Eating bitter foods in summer is better than taking tonics.
As summer arrives, humidity is high, the weather is stuffy, and it's been raining all week, leaving both body and mind feeling exhausted. The focus of summer health preservation is on nourishing the heart. The heart prefers coolness and light tonics, and because bitterness enters the heart, there's a saying: "Eating bitter in summer is better than taking tonics."
Eating an appropriate amount of bitter foods in summer can clear heart fire. As early as the Zhou Dynasty, the "Book of Rites - Neize" stated: "Spring has more sourness, summer more bitterness, autumn more pungency, winter more saltiness," explaining how to follow the seasons for dietary health. Bitter melon is the top recommendation among bitter foods, being highly nutritious and versatile in cooking. It can be prepared as cold bitter melon salad, bitter melon scrambled eggs, bitter melon and soybean soup, etc.
In summer, you can steep five slices of fresh or dried bitter melon in hot water for 15 minutes to make a drink. If you find the taste too bitter, you can add stevia leaves for sweetness.
Bitter melon tastes bitter, is cold in nature, and enters the heart, stomach, and liver meridians. It can relieve summer heat, improve eyesight, detoxify, and help lower blood sugar. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" records that bitter melon can remove evil heat, relieve fatigue, and clear the heart and improve vision. Bitter melon is rich in nutrients, containing large amounts of vitamins, amino acids, and trace elements, and it also aids digestion, beautifies the skin, and quenches thirst. Research also shows that bitter melon can help lower blood lipids, blood pressure, and blood sugar. However, it's important to note that while bitter melon helps clear heart fire, it is quite cold in nature, so it's best consumed two to three times a week and in moderation to avoid harming the spleen and stomach. Pregnant women and those with a weak spleen and stomach should not consume too much.
Eating an appropriate amount of bitter foods in summer can clear heart fire. As early as the Zhou Dynasty, the "Book of Rites - Neize" stated: "Spring has more sourness, summer more bitterness, autumn more pungency, winter more saltiness," explaining how to follow the seasons for dietary health. Bitter melon is the top recommendation among bitter foods, being highly nutritious and versatile in cooking. It can be prepared as cold bitter melon salad, bitter melon scrambled eggs, bitter melon and soybean soup, etc.
In summer, you can steep five slices of fresh or dried bitter melon in hot water for 15 minutes to make a drink. If you find the taste too bitter, you can add stevia leaves for sweetness.
Bitter melon tastes bitter, is cold in nature, and enters the heart, stomach, and liver meridians. It can relieve summer heat, improve eyesight, detoxify, and help lower blood sugar. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" records that bitter melon can remove evil heat, relieve fatigue, and clear the heart and improve vision. Bitter melon is rich in nutrients, containing large amounts of vitamins, amino acids, and trace elements, and it also aids digestion, beautifies the skin, and quenches thirst. Research also shows that bitter melon can help lower blood lipids, blood pressure, and blood sugar. However, it's important to note that while bitter melon helps clear heart fire, it is quite cold in nature, so it's best consumed two to three times a week and in moderation to avoid harming the spleen and stomach. Pregnant women and those with a weak spleen and stomach should not consume too much.